The Islamic Republic of Iran claims it exists to emancipate Muslims. What’s happening at the Syria-Jordan border proves otherwise.
The border situation proves Iran’s determination not to liberate, but rather to dominate, Muslims. It renders the lie to the Iranian theocratic claim that they are heirs to the Shia hero of the oppressed, Husayn ibn Ali.
But we shouldn’t get lost in the philosophical weeds here. As you read this article, Syrian, Iranian, Russian, and axis militia forces are smashing the rebel-held Daraa governorate in southern Syria. Their objective: cut the rebel artery at Daraa city and dominate southern Syria under President Bashar Assad’s control. To accomplish this, they are engaging with relentless air strikes, including the ones the Russians use to deliberately target aid workers, and indiscriminate artillery fire heedless of civilian lives. What they have accomplished is to pin 50,000 to 100,000 civilians against the Jordanian border.
That’s a big problem.
Already overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees it has accepted and with Daraa less than 50 miles from its capital, Amman, Jordan isn’t allowing more refugees across its border. Thousands of civilians are thus languishing in an arid no man’s land without access to adequate supplies of food or water. Things are going to get much worse as more refugees arrive and temperatures enter the mid-90s from Sunday.
What happens next?
Well, doubling down on existing commitments, the U.S. must pressure Saudi Arabia and other regional allies to provide greater financial aid support to Jordan’s economically troubled government. That’s the key to providing much needed resources to the refugees. Fortunately, Israel is also mobilizing its aid response efforts in anticipation of refugees pushing towards its border. The Israelis have been providing humanitarian aid and medical support to Syrians for the past few years and will do more as more civilians arrive.
Nevertheless, as we move to save lives, we must draw moral contrast to what is happening in southern Syria. Because Russia is proving it can’t be trusted to keep a deal (paging President Trump) and Iran is proving its comfort with slaughtering Muslims and eviscerating Husayn’s legacy. On the other side, Jordan and Israel are proving their commitment to saving innocent Muslim lives.
